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juushikaTitle: Under the Skin
Author: Michel Faber
Published: New York: Harcourt Inc., 2000
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 311
Total Page Count: 79,994
Text Number: 234
Read Because: recommended by Ellen Datlow in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fifteenth Annual Collection, borrowed from the library
Short Review: Every day, Isserley drives the roads of the Scottish Highlands looking for beefy male hitchhikers to pick up—but not for the reasons that anyone would expect. Isolated from home, out of place among the hitchhikers, Isserley is the only link between two cultures. Under the Skin is a nightmare to summarize and even harder to review because the truth of Isserley's identity and role is a huge spoiler which is crucial to book's plot and message. Nonetheless it's safe to say: the first half of the book is an engaging, enjoyable, if imperfect mystery, but the second half is bogged down by impersonal identity issues and empty ethical quandaries. The book is a mixed bag: promising, well-intentioned, but ultimately flawed. I don't recommend it.
Under the Skin is an odd beast: it's a fresh, unusual book, entirely well-intentioned, but littered with problems. It's also a beast to discuss without spoiling the story for potential readers—so this review may tend towards vague. The book falls approximately into two halves: before, and after, the revelation of Isserley's identity. Before is suspenseful: a slow journey through unexplained events and subtle hints builds up the mystery of Isserley's life and her true identity. This journey is so slow, in fact, that it sometimes drags; the outsider's perspective of Isserley's unsettling identity makes her a stranger to the reader, and so she's unfortunately unsympathetic. Nonetheless it's a hell of a ride: a mystery which grows stranger and stranger, drawing the reader in with a tangle of clues, startling him with the simple, yet utterly alien reveal. This half of the book is atmospheric and engrossing, fresh and unusual, and well worth reading.
After revealing the truth of Isserley's identity, the book explores the nature of her in-between identity and the ethics of her role. (Vague, yes?) This section is well-intended but constantly faulted. Isserley's disconnected dual identity isn't sufficient alien (nor convincing), but nor (as mentioned above) is she sufficiently sympathetic, so her issues of identity are promising but ultimately unsatisfying. Her ethical dilemma is thoughtful, but it's ultimately too clear-cut and preachy to hit home. And the book entire has a weak plot—that no problem when there's suspense to propel the book, but the second half feels undirected, making Isserley's concerns seem more like navel-gazing that personal revelation. Finally, the book hash a cop-out ending which leaves a sour taste and makes Isserley's journey meaningless. This second half has potential and the best of intentions, but it's a disappointment. I'm not sure how Faber could have improved his book—shrinking the distance between Isserley and reader? taking a different angle on the impact of her identity? making her identity more believably alien? Regardless, I can't recommend a book which is only half good. As enjoyable as it's unfulfilling, as engaging as it's empty, Under the Skin is a mixed bag. Pick it up if you're curious, because there's some good to pull from it—but on the whole, I don't recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Possible improvements for creating an "alien" culture: don't mimic the same divisive, sexist gender roles we have in this one. Mr. Faber may have been trying to "get" a female protagonist but mostly he came of as if all he knew about women he'd learned from watching The View.
Author: Michel Faber
Published: New York: Harcourt Inc., 2000
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 311
Total Page Count: 79,994
Text Number: 234
Read Because: recommended by Ellen Datlow in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fifteenth Annual Collection, borrowed from the library
Short Review: Every day, Isserley drives the roads of the Scottish Highlands looking for beefy male hitchhikers to pick up—but not for the reasons that anyone would expect. Isolated from home, out of place among the hitchhikers, Isserley is the only link between two cultures. Under the Skin is a nightmare to summarize and even harder to review because the truth of Isserley's identity and role is a huge spoiler which is crucial to book's plot and message. Nonetheless it's safe to say: the first half of the book is an engaging, enjoyable, if imperfect mystery, but the second half is bogged down by impersonal identity issues and empty ethical quandaries. The book is a mixed bag: promising, well-intentioned, but ultimately flawed. I don't recommend it.
Under the Skin is an odd beast: it's a fresh, unusual book, entirely well-intentioned, but littered with problems. It's also a beast to discuss without spoiling the story for potential readers—so this review may tend towards vague. The book falls approximately into two halves: before, and after, the revelation of Isserley's identity. Before is suspenseful: a slow journey through unexplained events and subtle hints builds up the mystery of Isserley's life and her true identity. This journey is so slow, in fact, that it sometimes drags; the outsider's perspective of Isserley's unsettling identity makes her a stranger to the reader, and so she's unfortunately unsympathetic. Nonetheless it's a hell of a ride: a mystery which grows stranger and stranger, drawing the reader in with a tangle of clues, startling him with the simple, yet utterly alien reveal. This half of the book is atmospheric and engrossing, fresh and unusual, and well worth reading.
After revealing the truth of Isserley's identity, the book explores the nature of her in-between identity and the ethics of her role. (Vague, yes?) This section is well-intended but constantly faulted. Isserley's disconnected dual identity isn't sufficient alien (nor convincing), but nor (as mentioned above) is she sufficiently sympathetic, so her issues of identity are promising but ultimately unsatisfying. Her ethical dilemma is thoughtful, but it's ultimately too clear-cut and preachy to hit home. And the book entire has a weak plot—that no problem when there's suspense to propel the book, but the second half feels undirected, making Isserley's concerns seem more like navel-gazing that personal revelation. Finally, the book hash a cop-out ending which leaves a sour taste and makes Isserley's journey meaningless. This second half has potential and the best of intentions, but it's a disappointment. I'm not sure how Faber could have improved his book—shrinking the distance between Isserley and reader? taking a different angle on the impact of her identity? making her identity more believably alien? Regardless, I can't recommend a book which is only half good. As enjoyable as it's unfulfilling, as engaging as it's empty, Under the Skin is a mixed bag. Pick it up if you're curious, because there's some good to pull from it—but on the whole, I don't recommend it.
Review posted here on Amazon.com.
Possible improvements for creating an "alien" culture: don't mimic the same divisive, sexist gender roles we have in this one. Mr. Faber may have been trying to "get" a female protagonist but mostly he came of as if all he knew about women he'd learned from watching The View.
